Scallop, you are hideously ugly. But I still love you.

My daughter is an inquisitive eater. She wants to know everything about what she eats. Not because she doesn't like it, but because she has a genuine curiosity. She asked the other night if these scallops were animals. That turned into a discussion because Matt and I are not self-professed experts on scallops. But we did know enough to tell her that yes, they are sea animals, and they are invertebrates. That's about all we knew. What do they look like when they're not in the frying pan? Do they have an outer shell? Inner thoughts? Mouths? I explored the fabulous world of Google and came up with this lovely picture. Really? That's a scallop in its natural form? I wish I hadn't gone down this avenue. I'm a bit horrified, actually. I did find out some interesting tidbits of information, though. Did you know scallops are active swimmers? They swim by flapping their shells. I always pictured them as barnacle-type beasts. Stuck to posts and sunken pirate ships.
Either way, I still adore them. And in my research, I discovered that due to several factors, Bay Scallops on the U.S. East Coast are declining in numbers! Mainly due to shark-fishing. Sharks eat sting rays, and sting rays eat scallops. So lets stop eating those nasty sharks so I can have more scallops!